The advantage of external display of acceleration and brake information on automotive vehicles, although apparent in a variety of driving situations, is perhaps most strongly felt at traffic intersections, where automotive vehicles and pedestrians interact from a plurality of directions and at a variety of speeds. Conventional vehicle external lighting provides such information in areas that may not be visible in all situations at intersections.
Prior art systems that do make provision for such situations provide lights that either are not sufficiently conspicuous to attract attention in the often busy intersections, or that illuminate when not needed. Lighting circuits, such as is described by Davis et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,807, entitled "Vehicle Motion Indicator", issued Mar. 14, 1989, have been proposed that indicate a depression of a vehicle acceleration or brake pedal from a hardwired pedal switch connected directly to a simple indicator lamp. Such a circuit requires extended periods of illumination of the lighting, due to the inflexibility of the circuitry.
The effectiveness of any exterior lighting system is dependent on its specificity and its conspicuity to other drivers, which may be improved by selective application of unusual lighting in key areas of the vehicle. Accordingly, what is desired is a selective external display of brake and accelerator information in forward areas of the vehicle, conspicuous to those interacting with the vehicle, especially at traffic intersections.